Beijing, September 9, 2013—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Department of China’s southeastern Fujian province to boost trade and help Fujian companies invest in developing countries.
Last year, Fujian recorded a gross domestic product of 1.97 trillion yuan (about $322 billion), higher than that of Malaysia at about $304 billion. As a historically outward-looking region, many people from Fujian live and do business abroad.
“Fujian companies need IFC’s global expertise and local knowledge in helping them expand to other emerging markets,” said Fujian’s Vice Governor Zheng Xiaosong. “This will help promote regional collaboration between Fujian companies and their emerging-market counterparts, enhance the competitiveness of Fujian companies, and generate growth for the province.”
IFC and the department will explore ways to further boost trade and help Fujian businesses invest overseas and share knowledge, particularly in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, environmental protection, and energy efficiency. In the past fiscal year, IFC committed $6 billion globally and more than $240 million in China to facilitate trade finance.
“Promoting sustainable South-South development is a priority for IFC in Asia and globally,” said IFC Asia Pacific Vice President Karin Finkelston. "IFC supports innovative projects that boost cross-border investment, facilitate knowledge transfer and increase trade flows among emerging markets.”
In fiscal year 2013, IFC invested around $1.7 billion in nearly 50 South-South projects globally. In China, IFC established a joint venture, Peak Reinsurance, with its long-standing client Fosun Group to provide quality reinsurance services in emerging Asian countries including China, India, and Indonesia – an important move to increase insurance coverage for businesses and households within Asia. IFC is also working on establishing a renminbi-denominated facility to support trade between China and other emerging markets.
Separately, IFC also signed an agreement with Fujian-based Industrial Bank to jointly promote energy efficiency in buildings across China, which is home to half of the new buildings built globally every year. According to a McKinsey report, China spends an estimated 40 percent of its total energy on the building sector.
IFC Vice President and Treasurer Jingdong Hua said: “Green buildings are more efficient, lowering operating costs and minimizing negative impacts on the environment. By partnering with Chinese companies to expand investments in green buildings, we are promoting innovative solutions that address climate change—a key development challenge in China and globally.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges.